On the occasion of the celebration of World Wetlands Day, the CEDIA Norte team participated today in the Parade "Caring for wetlands we prevent natural disasters", organized by the Regional Government of Loreto in the city of Iquitos. In order to publicize the importance of the interfluvial wetlands of the Tapiche and Blanco rivers in the framework of the future establishment of a Regional Conservation Area (ACR).
The ACR proposal, which GOREL is promoting will have the support of CEDIA, covers more than 300 thousand hectares, which is home to the largest extension of white sand forests in Peru (18 thousand hectares), varillales and chamizales. This new ACR also seeks to protect the wetlands of the Tapiche and Blanco rivers, important fragile ecosystems because, in addition to being part of the ancestral territory of the Capanahua and Remo indigenous peoples, it is the holder of great biodiversity, they serve as transport and contribute, for decades , to the food security of the 22 native communities that border the area, as well as Requena and Iquitos through the sale and trade of resources that come from their forests, lakes and rivers.
In addition, its conservation is important since by maintaining the normal water cycle, the risk of natural disasters is reduced. According to the Field Museum, this interfluvium would be one of the largest carbon repositories
under the category of peat bogs, chamizales and wetland systems, which could become tradable carbon credits under the mechanisms established in the Framework Convention on Climate Change
(CMCC).
On December 9, 2016, the plenary session of the Loreto Regional Council indicated, through Regional Ordinance, the approval of a technical file that indicates that Tapiche - Blanco is part of the 09 priority sites for the conservation of biodiversity. For this reason, the future establishment of the Tapiche-Blanco ACR will be crucial as it will conserve the interfluvian wetlands, promote better management of natural resources, put an end to illegal logging in the area and will imply ensuring land tenure for the population. local. Currently, CEDIA has contributed to title 10 of the communities surrounding the area, even though there are forest concessions superimposed on the fragile ecosystem and communal territories.